A chance for change
by hummingpetal
Summary: This is a 'reading HP Deathly Hallows' story - a chance to meet the marauders, mad-eye and McGonagall, and a chance to mess with time to save many, many lives. Give this one a chance.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! I know that there are lots of stories rather similar to this out there, but please give mine a chance! And a promise I'll make to you now – this will be finished. Enjoy reading and please review, it really doesn't take that long

Disclaimer: Well, obviously JKR owns the entire Harry Potter world and series; I'm just privileged to be able to play in it.

Harry closed his eyes quickly, trying in vain to prevent the tears from falling.

They'd won. Voldemort was dead, yet Harry did not feel victorious. His heart ached with sorrow for all those who had lost their lives, and guilt consumed his soul. Could he have done anything differently to save them? Would things have turned out better if he had made different choices?

The tears were falling in earnest now as he leaned back into the soft back of the couch, his unfocused gaze staring blindly at the dancing flames that played in the fireplace. He'd gone to the room of requirement in search of refuge, to get away from everything, from everyone – just for a while. He could hardly walk two steps without being mobbed by a crowd of well-wishing congratulators. They treated him like a hero, praised him, drank to his name. Yet they couldn't understand his desire to grieve for all whom were lost, the pain that filled his heart with every step he made. The knowledge that he had lived, but so many had died – for him. Because of him. Remus, Mad-eye, Tonks, Fred, Sirius, Cedric, his parents…

He brought his knees up to his chest, resting his head against them.

What would his parents have said? What would Sirius tell him? Would they understand? Or would they blame him for their untimely deaths – Remus and Tonks who had left their little Teddy behind, now in Harry's care…

He turned his head slightly to gaze at the sleeping bundle cradled in Ginny's arms besides him, and a fresh wave of tears obscured his vision. He felt a slim, warm arm wrap around his shoulders and he realized his sobs must have woken Ginny, pulling her out of a dreamless, well deserved sleep.

"Sorry," he chocked out, but her gaze was filled with understanding and her eyes mirrored the pain he knew was reflected in his own. She didn't speak, simply held him until his tears ran out and he slipped an arm around her waist.

Eventually Teddy stirred quietly in his sleep, shifting his little form in Ginny's arms. As the young couple gaze down at the infant, their souls filled with love for one another, Ginny's head dipped slightly, coming to rest on Harry's shoulder.

Harry, calmer now, looked at his love and his godson nestled quietly in her arms, and felt a small glow of joy and hope, appeasing slightly his pained emotions. They were all alive, they had each-other. In a way, they were already a small family; albeit a young one that had suffered much, but not without hope for the future.

Harry felt drained, yet slightly more at peace as his eyes began to close, his body finally surrendering to sleep. If only the others could understand like Ginny did, if only he could have explained to them before they died…

Lily Evans was in turmoil. Her eyes bore holes into the souls of the three boys standing before her, Remus shifting uncomfortably by her side as McGonagall surveyed the situation, eyeing both parties warily. Peter, finally catching up to the group stopped abruptly as he took in Lily's smoldering green eyes locked on Sirius, James and Severus, tripping over his feet and falling ungracefully to the floor. Remus bent down to help him up as McGonagall appeared to be trying to figure out a way of resolving this issue without Lily releasing so much magic that they'd all end up in the hospital wing, and her eyes darted around for help, locking with Alastor's who was having a quiet conversation with the young Mr. Black.

"What the hell is wrong with you three?" Lily finally exploded at her most unfortunate victims. Can't you take a break? For once? Or do you actually enjoy making your lives miserable? I can't believe you boys, it's just so…" And then, to the utter astonishment of everyone standing there, Lily Evans burst into tears.

James and Severus were now feeling extremely awkward; their argument now seemed definitely not worth making Lily cry. James moved forward to try to comfort his distraught girlfriend, glaring intensely at Snivelus as he noticed the other boys' involuntary move forward as well. Sirius simply stood there dumbfounded, startled at seeing Lily cry.

An incredibly loud grating sound snapped them all out of their astonishment as nine pairs of eyes shifted to the usually smooth wall of the seventh floor corridor, locking onto the massive mahogany double doors that had appeared there.

There was silence in the hall.

Harry was pulled into consciousness by the sound of voices and shuffling feet behind him, and he was on his feet, newly restored wand at the ready in an instant. His eyes observing the intruders, he moved quickly to place himself in front of the couch, barring their way towards a now wide-awake Ginny who was clutching a teary Teddy tightly.

As he inspected the intruders, Harry's eyes went wide and his wand hand began to tremble.

"Ginny," he said shakily, "you see them too, right?"

"Y-yes," she replied, "Yes I do." And then she burst into tears, her sobs mingling with his Godson's the only sound in the room.

Harry simply starred.

"Hey Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed, "He looks just like you!"

Harry wavered, certain he was on the verge of passing out. He couldn't believe his eyes; young versions of Snape, Remus, Sirius, McGonagall…

He thoughts were cut off as Moody pointed a wand at him from across the room.

"Who are you?" He barked out.

Harry didn't know what to say. Thankfully he was saved by McGonagall exclaiming, "Alastor! Stop! Can't you see the lad's distraught?"

"You think he's a death eater?" That was a tall, auburn haired boy who looked like Harry with Hazel eyes. He was instantly recognizable from the pictures Harry had spent hours on end staring at.

"James?" He chocked out. What was going on? What the hell was going on?

"How do you know our names?" James demanded, and Harry noted Sirius's wand was trained on Ginny. This alone shook him out of his stupor as he moved sideways, shielding her and Teddy bodily from any potential threat.

Suddenly the door in the wall swung shut with a clang, and disappeared.

"It's a trap!" Remus exclaimed, drawing his wand.

"Stop." Harry's voice rang over their panicked mutterings. "Look, I don't understand what's going on here but I swear we mean you no harm." To prove his point, he lowered his wand, gazed locked with Mad-eye's.

None of the others moved an inch.

Anger swelling in his chest at all the wands trailed close to Ginny, Harry locked eyes with each of them in turn, willing them to understand as he spoke.

"Please, I don't have a clue what's going on, but I can prove that I do know you even though you clearly don't recognize me." He took a breath. "Padfoot," he said, locking eyes with Sirius, "You're a marauder along with James (Prongs) and Remus (Moony). Suffice it to say I know how you earned your nicknames and about Remus's 'furry little problem', as you call it. You're a dog in every sense of the word." This left the marauders dumbstruck, and nervous that a stranger knew so much.

"Ugh!" Harry exclaimed, "Look, I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"

The four marauders expressions as that detail was revealed were priceless, and the others looked confused. Harry plowed on.

"I suppose Peter, aka Wormtail, is also a marauder. Lily, your sister's name's Petunia and spends her life looking like she swallowed a lemon and hates everything to do with magic." Here Harry's voice softened, hoping he wasn't hurting her too much by saying it out loud. "Any one magical is a 'freak', and she treats them accordingly. Snape was your first magical friend."

That drew raised eyebrows from around the room.

"You're boyfriend's James, though he's been asking since you met him you only got together in 7th year. Snape, the marauders give you hell, call you Snivelus, and you give them hell. Your worst memory is the day after your OWLs when James had you upside down and you called Lily a 'mudblood'. She never forgave you for it. You're also on of the bravest men I knew." Harry said, images of his death flashing before his eyes.

"Professor McGonagall, you're a cat animagus, transfiguration professor. You think divination's a load of crap. Mad-eye Moody… " he trailed off, unsure what to say. "Auror, slightly paranoid. You're favorite phrase, or at least what I swear you've told us all at least a hundred times is 'Constant vigilance!'" This had Mad-eye staring at him curiously, blue eye whizzing wildly around the room.

Harry then turned his attention to the dark haired seeker he recognized as Regalus. "Regalus Black. Sirius's little brother – you're friendship broke when you were sorted into Slytherin, then shattered when Sirius left to live with the Potters at 16."

Silence.

More silence.

Then Ginny spoke, "Oh come on! Lower your wands, you're scarring Teddy!" At the sight of the baby with watery eyes, Remus sighed and stowed his wand. He wasn't going to attack a baby, after all.

"Ouch!"

Harry lay sprawled on the floor, a heavy book having dropped out of nowhere above him being the main source of his pain. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, frozen, as he gazed at the offending object. "Can't I ever catch a break? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?! Review all the happy memories?" Harry was frustrated beyond belief, not understanding what was going on. It was torture to see all these people so close, yet totally out of his reach. He wanted nothing more than to run over to Sirius, to hug him, tell him he was sorry, but couldn't. This wasn't his Sirius.

"Who are you?" the question came from Severus, of all people.

"I'm Har-" He was cut off as a paper airplane swooped down to hit him in the eye.

"Dam it all!" he exclaimed, then realized it was a note. He read it, looked up at the others, read it again, and wordlessly rose to go take Teddy from Ginny, his eyes wide as saucers.

"I'm Harry." He looked at his young dad. "Harry James Potter."

"Potter?" James asked, surprised.

Harry nodded as Sirius, curious, picked up the abandoned page and read it aloud.

_Harry,_

_I am sure it is easy for you to understand when I say that I, Hogwarts (yes Sirius, the castle's very much alive), owe you. You're wish of discovering if your loved ones thought you'd done the right thing and your pain at having lost many of them gave me the opportunity to return the favor._

_I have sent you, Ginny, and of course I wasn't going to leave out little Teddy, back into the past to your parents seventh year. _

This drew gasps of surprise from most of the people in the room. "You're from the future?" Lily asked. Harry simply nodded as he gazed at his mother-to-be.

Everyone was left speechless for a second, digesting this information, and then James exclaimed, "YES!" and began dancing around the room like a maniac.

"Umm… James?" Remus asked nervously.

"Don't you see?" James asked grinning from ear to ear. "He said to his **parents** seventh year! And he's a Potter… So I marry Lily!" He finished triumphantly; his hazel eyes alight with delight.

He turned to Harry after a second, pausing and then said, "Well, it's an odd way to meet you but hey son!" Ginny couldn't take it she broke into peals of laughter.

"James, what the hell makes you think that means I'm the mother?" Lily asked, incredulous as she stared at Harry.

"Simple," he replied, totally serious as he gazed at his girlfriend. "There's no way I'd marry anyone else."

_I've arranged for several people from their time to join you in the room of requirement, as you've probably figured out by now, and I've sent you a book about your seventh year. I am sorry, but the easiest way to make sure everything would become clear was to take your memories so this book is from your point of view. _

_I apologize in advance that you'll have to share your inner thoughts, but these people can be trusted. Well, Peter needs to be here anyway. _

Everyone turned to look incredulously at Peter, who looked stunned at what the castle was implying.

James cleared his throat, pointed to the letter in Sirius's hands saying, "moving on."

_You are all trapped in the room until you read the book, cover to cover. _

_Harry, let me impress upon you that you now have the chance to change everything. If in the end the majority of the people in this room decide that it isn't worth attempting to meddle with time and change the future, everyone's memories will be wiped of this time here, so they don't retain future knowledge, though you, Ginny and Teddy can keep your memories. _

"That's not fair!" Sirius exclaimed.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yes it is – they've already lived through the future so they know what happened. Wiping their memories would be pretty pointless."

_Again, you can now change everything. But if you decide that time is worth meddling with (as I know you've already made up your mind to do), plan it carefully out together before you leave. Remember, changing one thing can have unexpected repercussions, even on how you would have acted in previous situations. If you mess things up badly, Ginny may not have survived the war. _

Here Harry winced visibly, and wrapped an arm around Ginny's waist, holding her tightly.

She gave him a small smile.

_I do enjoy watching drama take place, so I'm going to forbid you from explaining everything to them from the get-go and make them have to discover everything as they read the book, at the same pace as you originally did. There will be times when they can ask questions, so I'll let you know. _

_Remember – no cursing each other until the end. You could come to regret it. _

_Enjoy, and good luck!_

"Well then," Mad-eye broke the silence as more chairs and couched popped up around the fireplace, "Who's reading?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry it took so long – sketchy internet and a move to a new continent causes writing disturbances !_

_It all belongs to J.K.R., of course :D_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

« Why don't I begin ? » Proffessor McGonagal offered tentatively. Everyone quickly quietened and as Minerva noticed she now held their undivided attention, she cleared her throat and said, « The book's titled **Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**... »

Everyone glanced at Harry, who sighed and settled into the couch behind him, trying hard to avoid their gazes without disturbing little Teddy who'd finally dozed off once more.

And so McGonagall's smooth voice began to read, **« **Chapter 1,** The Dark Lord Ascending. **

**The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards... » **

Harry cocked his head curiously to one side, before registering exactly what was being read about. He felt a sickened jolt in the pit of his stomach as he recalled the dream – well, event. And to think that Snape had had to stand there, to watch his coworker tortured then eaten by that bloody snake…

He closed his eyes, trying to fight down the wave of nausia that threatened to rise up and consume him.

**« … replied Severus Snape »**, McGonagall read out, and the tension in the room soared as the words slapped everyone accross the face, hard. Snape was going to be a death eater.

Lily shot a look of betrayal at her former friend, and Severus's mask slipped slightly. He looked positively ill.

McGonagall looked down as she continued quietly. **« The lane was bordered… » **

The people in the room listened, as if in a horrified trance. Lily's quiet sob as she obtained undisputable proof that Severus bore the dark mark when he passed through the gate with Yaxel was the only sound in the room besides McGonagall's shaky voice.

« So they're at the Malfoys… » Regalus muttered softly.

Both Ginny and Harry tensed. Ginny had seen the scars Bella had carved into poor 'Mione in there – Harry had heard her screams.

Mad-eye took grim note of all that he was hearing, silently moving the Malfoy's up on his 'to check' list.

The atmosphere in the room darkened with the depressing description, Lily shifting just slightly closer to James.

**« …then Snape turned the bronze handle. »**

McGonagall paused slightly, and all the Gryffindors scowelled.

Regalus chanced a look at Snape, and was surprised to see that his friend had turned a rather unhealthy sheen of green. Interesting.

**« … unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly… »**

McGonagal put the book down, unable to read any futher.

Looks of disgust and horror were written accross the faces of all the occupants of the room.

Regalus began to wonder, not for the first time mind you, just how far he was really willing to go in order to please his family. This… this wasn't something he was singing up for. This couldn't be what he had in store. This wasn't right, wasn't even… he closed his eyes in disgust. Wasn't human.

« You had to watch all this ? » Ginny wispered to Harry, pity filling her beautiful eyes. He nodded, then added, « But really, I had it easy. At least I wasn't forced to stand there. »

Ginny gasped as the implications of his words hit home. Her teary gaze now lingered on Snape, who was too busy trying not to be sick to notice.

« I'll read, » Remus offered, seeing McGonagal had yet to make a move to retrive the bound pages, prefering to glare at the offending text with undisguised hatred.

**« …a high, clear voice from the head of the table. "You are very nearly late." »**

« That, that isn't… » McGonagal whispered, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

There was silence for a moment.

Mad-eye noticed with interest the sneer plastered on Harry's face. Interesting he could not detect a trace of fear in those cold eyes, so unlike the ones of the young man whom had been listening calmly to the proceedings only a moment before. If this was Voldermort, the boy seemed not to fear him – if nothing else, his eyes held only a fiery anger, and a hint of … pity ? What ?!

« 'Very nearly late' ? » Sirius scoffed in an ill-fated attempt to lighten the mood and undo the knot of tension that was building within his heart. Fear. Fear of hearing his brother's name mentioned in this accursed text.

Harry snorted, contempt written accross his face. « He's always had this… way with words, hasn't he ? »

Startled at the venom in his words, Sirius shut up, motioning hastily for Remus to continue.

**« … hairless, snakelike, with slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertical. He was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow. »**

« Oh my God ! » Lily exclaimed in shock. « Is he even human any more ?! » She looked revolted.

Harry's stiff response of « Hardly. » stopped any other comments ready to spill out.

James and Remus exchanged glances. That wasn't a light hearted comment – Harry had spoken as if that were fact.

Mad-eye noted to exchange, and the reasoning behind it, dutifully

**« "Severus, here," said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right. »**

"You're his right hand man." James's hallow voice echoed rather earily around the stone silent room.

Sirius was shaking, and turned his furious gaze towards Snivellus, prepared to scream his brains out and…

Severus threw up. He had risen to his feet and stood, doubled over, one hand bracing himself against the wall as he heaved his insides out onto the wooden parque.

« Oh Severus ! » Ginny cried out, rushing to his side as he began to drie heave.

The others sat there – stunned. No one moved, they had no idea what to do. The marauders looked on in complete and utter incomprehension. McGonagal and Lily looked as though they were considering going to make sure he was all right, and Regalus looked undecided between concern and disgust.

Mad-eye watched, curious as to Ginny's reaction. His eyebrow raised as he noticed Harry, cradling a dozing Teddy, rise and walk over to Ginny holding a glass of water.

Sirius thought he was going to faint as Ginny pulled Snivellus's greasy hair out of his face, calmly rubbing his back with one arm.

Slowly, Snape began to recover, and was too shocked to even comment when he noticed the couple's presence silently accepting the glass of water with a startled look on his face.

« _What the HELL _?! » Sirius exploded. « You're … you're helping him ?! Voldermort's _RIGHT HAND MAN _?! Are you guys COMPLETELY insane ? ! »

Harry's gaze snapped up to look at the face of this young Sirius, and the hatred he registered finally caused his emotional dam to break. His eyes turned cold.

« SHUT UP ! Right now Sirius – you have no idea what you're talking about ! None ! The amount of times you guys have picked on him, how you hate him for being a slitherin – I've seen what you guys did to him at school, what you did for your own amusement, what you thought was funny ! You judge people way too fast, don't give them a chance ! You grew up in a world of prejuduce, youp ride yourself at having escaped the same fate – yet, in your own way, you're just as prejuduce as the rest of your crazy family ! And you ! » His furious eyes turned to James, « Egging him on for fun, to get back at him for being friends with Lily – you're no better than he is ! You let jealousy cloud your judgement, thought you were being cool ! » James's face had turned ashen. « I was told all my life my father was a great man – but once I saw… when I saw the memory I was ashamed ! My father, the great man, a bully. » Harry took a breath, James eyes filled with shame as his heart tore slightly at his son's words. « Remus. » Said werewolf stiffened, thinking he could guess what was coming next. « You just stood there. You never did anything ! You were too affraid they'd reject you – to insecure, weak, to stand up to them ! And you ! » Harry turned to his mother, his voice softenning slightly as the rest simply stared in awe at a raging Harry. « You never did get it, did you ? » He took a breath. « Remember his worst memory ? Shouldn't be too hard cause you're in it ! » Snape flinched.

Teddy was crying, woken by the shouting and Harry's anger seemed to disolve with the sound as he rocked his arms softly, his eyes full of pain.

« You have no idea what the man I knew went through. You can not imagine what he had to do. Everything… he stopped living after a while, he'd died inside. » Harry said softly, his gaze locked with his father's, willing him to understand.

« I'm not saying he was perfect – in my oppionion far from it. He often acted like a greasy git, picked on me in class cause I look like my father. But in my experience, people who want to become death eaters don't vomit at the news of having become Voldie's right hand man. I will not tolerate anyone trying to harm him. »

There was silence.

Silence. Harry continued to pace the room, rocking the little body in his arms. Silence.

Remus read on.

**« … the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall." »**

« What ?! » James burst out, outragged. « How the hell can you defend a man who's giving out information about you like that ? And why the hell would the Order of the Phoenix need to move you ? From where, to where ? » James looked distraught, confused at his son's lack of reaction to events, his defense of a man who was putting Harry, his son, into such danger !

**« …Voldemort's lipless mouth curved into something like a smile. »**

« Scary » Regalus muttered. Sirius threw a look of surprise in his direction.

« There's a traitior ? » Lily murmured, her face pale and her heart clenching. Seemed as though they had yet to be caught. Unfortunately Remus caught the almost involontary glance the marauders gave in his direction, and his heart almost stopped.

« You…you think… » He said, his face completely ashen.

« No, no ! Of course not ! » Sirius said, just a tad too quickly.

Remus dropped the book, his eyes welling with horrified tears as he started to back away.

Harry grimaced, understanding where this was coming from and trying to figure out how to break the news of the rat to them smoothly. Horrorified looks were begining to register on the faces of the other order members as they cottoned on to the discussion. Lily began to cry.

« Because I'm a werewolf ? You think… you think I'd… »

« No Remus. » James spoke up, his gaze troubled. « How could you think that ? You're our friend. »

Harry's heart tightened, and he grimaced at the pain this was going to cause James.

« You do, don't you ? » Remus asked, his voice breaking as he read the truth in the eyes of a man he considered his brother. He glanced at Harry, and took in his grimace. « Oh my God ! No ! No ! I wouldn't ! I don't ! Please, tell me that's not true ! »

Remus was sobbing, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Harry started, then cursed himself slightly, hurrying to try to calm the hysterical werewolf.

« Cause if that's the case, I'll killl myself now. Someone please kill me now ! I would never, I wouldn't ! I w-wouldn't ! »

Peter was now looking extreemly uncomphortable.

« Moony, stop. » Harry's voice cut through the room as he stood and walked towards Remus, who began to back away.

« It's not you. »

The releif on Moony's face was almost comical as he registered the words, and he fell to the ground, now sobbing in relief. Harry wrapped his arms around him in comfort, wedging little Teddy between them. The baby's hands reached out and he latched himself onto his would-be father, clinging to him.

The remaining marauders were looking on with a mixture of guilt and great relief, standing rather awkwardly a few feet away, unsure of what to do now.

« So who is it ? » Mad-eye's voice caused the room to go silent once again save for Remus's occasional hiccup. Harry looked up.

« What do you - » he tried, but Alastor cut him off. « Come on boy, » he said gruffly. « You reacted at the mention of a traitor, you know who it is. Clearly you either know them well or know that we know them well – that was a pained expression in your eyes. You may do many things in life, but don't insult my intelligeance. »

Silence.

Harry bowed his head as he stepped away slighlty from Remus, whom Teddy was still clutching too, refusing to let go. Glancing at Ginny, who nodded her head almost imperceptibly, his shoulders sagged and he gazed determindely at the floor, trying to think of the best way to phrase this.

« You already know the answer. » He said to Mad-eye, locking gazes. He knew he knew.

« Yes, well while Alastor probably does, the rest of us don't. » McGonagal snapped.

Here another peice of parchement fell from the ceilling, and Harry read it out quietly.

_I shall reitterate what I said before – Everyone here can be trusted, well, amost everyone. Peter needs to be here anyways._

James stumbled backwards, as though he'd been hit. Moony felt hurt well within his chest alongside the pain as he observed James's reaction.

« I'm going to kill him. » Sirius spoke the words quiety, but with the amount of venom that can only be achieved by a true Black as he turned towards Pettigrew, who looked absolutely terrified.

Regulus, Severus and Mad-eye had slipped indifferent masks over their faces, sheilding their emotions.

« No. » James said. « No ! »

Remus bowed his head, tears flowing freely again.

« Stop it ! » Ginny cried out, « haven't you already hurt him enough ? »

James looked up sharply, confusion, pain and betrayal haunting his eyes. Then he followed her gaze to Remus, and he broke down into tears. « I'm sorry Moony. I'm so, so sorry Moony. » He went over and grasped him tightly, shame building by the second.

« Well, aren't we all being manly tonight, » Sirius joked. He looked beat, the events of the evening having truely shaken him.

Peter was trying to dissapear into the chair cushions in which he sat.

« Bawd ! » The exclamation came from Teddy who, still clutching Remus, was now pushing his little hand into James's shirt, trying to push him away. Both men, Harry and Ginny all looked at him in surprise, but the little lad's attention was still focused intently on James, searching hard for the required words to express his displeasure.

« Dawddy. Bad ow Dawddy. » The marauders looked at the little boy in confusion, and Harry burst out into peals of laughter as Remus almost dropped the boy in surprise when his hair turned a fiery red.

« What's so funny ? » asked Regalus and Sirius simultaniously, both looking equally nonplussed, then startled at having been following the same thread of thought.

« Teddy, » Harry chided softly, as he gathered the angry lad in his arms. « That's my Daddy, don't be too harsh on him. »

« But… He hurwt Daddy ! » he exclaimed, his red hair dimming slightly as he snuggled into his godfather's chest, seeking warmth and reassurance.

Remus was paper white. He stared at Harry, then Teddy, then Ginny, and back to Teddy.

« But… but… I assumed he was yours ! » He said weakly.

Harry's face flushed slightly and Ginny just laughed, kissing her boyfriend on the nose as she took in his complection. « Nope, » she said cheerily, « but he's as good as. »

« Yeah, » Harry echoed her sentiment, smiling warmly at the little metamorph in his arms. « We're his godparents, but we really consider him our own. »

« But, how… I never… » Remus faltered, sinking to the floor. « Any more surprises I should know about ? »

« Hold on a second ! » Sirius exclaimed, looking from Moony to Teddy, to the couple and back again. « Oh my God Remus ! He's your son ?! »

James and Lily both hit him upside the head.

« Is he… ? » Remus ignored Sirius, and began the question that was all too obviously haunting him.

« No. » Harry cut him off, « He's a metamorph, like his mother. »

« His mother… » Remus echoed blankly. Stunned, he decided he must not have met her yet as the only morph he could think of was little Nyphadora, Sirius's little cousin.

« Who's your mama ? » Lilly asked the child, who scrunched up his face in an adorable 'I'm thinking hard' way. Lilly cooed softly and Ginny laughed.

« Townks. » Teddy answered. « Gwinny too. » Ginny glowed and hugged the child, who seemed happy to have pleased her.

« You knocked up my little cousin ?! » Sirius asked, looking outragged. « As in Dora, the seven year old ?! »

Remus looked slightly ill at the thought. « Umm… »

« Padfoot, » Harry cut in, turning Sirius's blazing eyes away from poor Remus, who was really having one hell of an afternoon. « Before you get all high and mighty, you should know that she practically begged him for four years straight before he finally gave in. »

« You should have heard him Sirius, » Ginny added. « I'm too old, too poor, too dangerous… It was like a mantra to him, but she didn't give two figs. She loved him, and although it may seem strange to you now Remus, you fell head over heels for her too. You know her patronous even changed to a wolf ? » Ginny finished softly.

Sirius was reeling.

« But I - »

Harry cut Moony off again. « I don't expect you to get it right now – it took the death of – of someone you both cared about to get you to consent to marry her. But don't regect the thought outright, little Teddy here's quite important to us. » He said with a small smile.

Remus sat in silence for a few seconds, then something clicked within him. « You're really close for godparents. »

The words echoed around the room as Harry and Ginny suddenly tensed, looking down awkwardly. James and Sirius looked ashen, as did Lilly and McGonagal.

« I'm dead, aren't I ? » Remus pushed on, and Harry looked up with painfilled eyes.

« Yes. » he whispered quietly.

There was silence for an instant. Then Sirius and James howeled and ran towards Moony pinning him to the ground. The girls were all crying, Ginny was holding Harry as he gently stroked her hair. Harry knew that Tonks had been important to Ginny, just as Remus had been to him. Then they looked at the little bundle in their arms and it gave them hope. Perhaps they could change things. For Teddy.

Peter broke into sobs, but no one paid him any heed.

The Slytherins and auror looked slightly pained.

Eventually, Mad-eye took the book from a surprising calm (soon to be paper-thin) Remus deciding enough was enough he gruffly continued.

Glares were thrown at Snape as he continually spilled information on harry's wearabouts to a mad man. Lilly glared at him through hurt, watery eyes. « How could you do this ? How could you do this to MY son ?! »

**« …Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?" »**

Everyone held their breath. The Ministery ? Fall ? Impossible.


End file.
